Archivo del November, 2011

Last Thursday, I went to the Sant Cugat campus to take part in one of ESADE’s most important institutional events: the 2011-2012 Scholarship Awards Ceremony . During the ceremony, we officially awarded scholarships for Degree and Undergraduate programmes to students of proven talent and academic excellence. The young people beginning academic life at ESADE this year thanks to the Scholarship Programme are pursuing a dream. The aspiration of some is to continue their family business; of others, to create global companies, to become outstanding lawyers, or give impetus to social projects that will help to improve the planet. Although they may have different professional objectives, the students who have been awarded a scholarship this year share a common vision: their time at ESADE will serve as a platform from which they will be able to advance towards their professional objectives.

ESADE is very committed to the Scholarship Programme, because we believe that talent and excellence should never be hindered by economic factors. Last year, we allocated 1.7 million euros to scholarships for 300 students in degree, MSc, MBA and PhD programmes. Of this sum, more than half a million euros came from donations made by companies, institutions and private individuals. This year, thanks to the joint efforts of ESADE’s Corporate Relations & Fundraising Service and to donors, we have doubled the scholarship fund for degrees. Our objective for the next four years is that more than 30% of ESADE students are able to benefit from a scholarship.

Providing access to education is an obligation that we have to society, because we firmly believe in equal opportunity. Because the best way to create a fair and prosperous society is to make quality education available to people with talent, regardless of their socio-economic status. Because social diversity in the classroom is beneficial. Because we are committed to opening our doors to overseas students where, without a scholarship, their economic conditionswould prevent them from coming to Spain,. Because we want our institution to represent and adapt to the real world and to the needs of society. And because we want ESADE to become a world benchmark for responsible entrepreneurial talent.

The 211 students who have received a scholarship this year will have an important opportunity to contribute, with their ideas and efforts, to improving the economic future of our country. Here at ESADE, we would like to encourage them to fight for their dreams, to hold true to their entrepreneurial beliefs, not to lose hope in times of adversity, and to persevere, so that they may fulfil their entrepreneurial dreams once they leave the classroom.

From time to time, I receive emails from alumni, who tell me about the influence that ESADE had on their entrepreneurial careers after leaving our classrooms. The most recent news I have received is from two alumni who attended my Entrepreneurship classes while they were studying the Part-Time MBA at ESADE.

Sergio Sáez, founder of CityWalks in 2009, began his business plan in the classrooms of ESADE. In his email, he tells me that his company, which produces innovative tourism audio guides, has decided to add China to the destinations it offers, and has adapted its product to a new market segment: museums, archaeological sites and municipal councils with a cultural heritage. Thanks to a flexible business strategy, the company has succeeded in differentiating itself from competitors and it has adopted a global mindset in order to penetrate new international market segments. Business is going very well, and Sergio tells me that the challenge he has set himself is to position CityWalks as a leading company in this new market niche.

Emy Teruel, a Part-Time MBA alumna, also contacted me recently to inform me that the company she founded, Exclusive Weddings, has become the first and only professional wedding planner agency that is a member of the Luxury Spain association. I remember Emy in my classes: she was a very good student. In our exchange of e-mails, Emy tells me that ESADE helped her to put the finishing touches to her business idea and to get it up and running. She points out that the support she received from her teachers proved to be extremely valuable, on both an academic and a personal level. Emy has succeeded in turning her business venture into a leading wedding planner agency, thanks to her capacity for product differentiation, her perseverance at the planning stage, and some solid marketing strategies.

When they left the classroom, both Sergio and Emy were in no doubt that the pursuit of excellence is vital in order to remain competitive and that differentiation would set their entrepreneurial projects apart. ESADE wishes them every professional success in the future.